


Lost and found

by Aarashi



Category: One Piece
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Goodbyes, Nakamaship, Promises
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2019-06-11
Packaged: 2020-04-24 20:23:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19180735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aarashi/pseuds/Aarashi
Summary: "You end up in trouble every time you get lost, after all.” (...)“Not every time.”“What?”“Not every time”, Zoro repeated. “Once I got lost, truly lost, and I ended up finding you.”





	Lost and found

His shirt was still wet and sticky of Sanji’s blood. His shoulders ached after the tension of the battle, after carrying the cook all the way to the ship, and because of the wounds that the marines had managed to open through his skin.

But unlike all the others, he remained standing.

Zoro walked towards Luffy, who had his back turned on him, looking at the alley, at the dark corner where, somehow, his enemies hided.

“Hey. You can’t go in there on your own.”

Luffy did not answer.

“They beat all of them and they nearly killed the cook. They have that damned seastone, so if they caught you, it’ll be the end. Hey, are you listening?”

Luffy had not moved a single muscle yet, nor made any signal that suggested he was hearing Zoro’s words. The swordsman clicked his tongue.

“Zoro.”

Luffy’s voice was low, serious. Zoro approached a bit more.

“I want you to get out of here.”

“But…!”

“Zoro. It’s an order.”

Zoro, who was about to protest, remained silent, frustrated. Finally, Luffy looked at him.

“I know. I know what they have made, and that’s why I’m going. I’ll make sure they pay for it.” His hands had tightened in fists. He made a pause. “But I need you to do something for me.”

Zoro said nothing.

“Go to the ship and get out of here. Make sure everyone can make it until Chopper is able to treat them. Once Nami is awake, set sail to the next island. Don’t wait for me.”

Again, Zoro said nothing. In other circumstances, an argument could have sprung, their voices rising and trying to fight the roars of the sea. He could hear the echoes, the answers he might have come with, while silence was the only thing he would have obtained.

His captain had already decided. There was nothing left to say.

“Don’t let them kill you,” he said, still.

“Of course.” Luffy smiled. “Oh, Zoro. I hope you don’t get lost in the way.”

“Idiot. Even I can get our asses out of this damned island...”

Zoro realized what he was saying and he stopped, while Luffy’s smile widened. The swordsman swore and shook his head. He ended up smiling, too. It was not a happy smile.

“Anyway… it’s not like getting lost would make any difference now,” he said, in a low voice.

 “You sure? You end up in trouble every time you get lost, after all.”

Zoro stared at him. Through the wounds and the dirt, through the remains of his clothes and the moonlight that caressed his face, Luffy’s promise still lived.

“Not every time.”

“What?”

“Not every time”, Zoro repeated. “Once I got lost, truly lost, and I ended up finding you.”

Luffy was still looking at him. He seemed surprised. More than ever, Zoro remembered the crazy boy he had met in East Blue, the same crazy boy who had invited him to join his crew, while he was trapped against a column after days of starving.

_I’m going to be the Pirate King!_

Finally, Luffy smiled.

“I see. Well. Better I go now. Oh, I nearly forget… Take this.”

Zoro raised his hand and picked the straw hat when Luffy threw it at him.

“Save it while I’m out, okay?”

Zoro seized it firmly.

“Sure, captain.”

Luffy looked at him once more.

“Take care of all of them for me, will you?”

“Yeah. Of course.”

“Thank you, Zoro.” He smiled one last time. “For everything.”

He turned his back on him and he started walking. Zoro did not stay to see him part. He returned to the ship. He had orders to fulfill. Even so, once he got on board, he could not resist the temptation of looking back. The night was dark. There were no stars.

But he knew that he was not lost.


End file.
